If Apple made camera

In terms of tech product design, Apple’s Jony Ive is arguably the most iconic. The somewhat enigmatic, cult figure of the Cupertino company has not only been responsible for some of the most memorable gadgets of our times, but was also the mastermind behind Apple’s recent design overhaul of the iOS mobile operating system. If you cast your minds way back, you might remember the news that Sir Jony would be designing a one-off camera for Leica, and as first seen in November’s Vanity Fair, the creation is just about ready.
Even though it’s only a render, one can immediately spot some excerpts from the mind of Ive. Laden in a significant amount of aluminum, as is the case with most of the iOS device range these days, that obsessive attention to detail we always associate with Ive and Apple products manifests itself once again, and we think the end product is one of beauty and elegance.

Although it was initially though that Ive would have a hand in designing one camera, it turns out that there are actually two, and with Australian designer Marc Newson also having had a hand in these unique pieces, they should fetch a tidy sum when they go under the hammer for charity next month. The (RED) auction will take place at Sotheby’s New York in November.


Both Ive and Newson have created a bunch of other auction-ready products besides the cameras, such as an 18 carat rose gold pair of Apple’s relatively new EarPod headphones, so if you’re looking to grab something limited edition but don’t quite have the money to pony up for a Jony Ive-inspired camera (discounting, of course, the one found inside the iPhone), then there are still plenty of other goodies on offer.


Leica is considered a luxury brand, of course, and with a regular camera easily setting the consumer back thousands of dollars, we could be looking at upward of one hundred thousand when the charity auction does eventually kick off.
What do you think, is this Ive-designed camera something you would consider buying if it were a mainstream product? Or do you think it’s a little over your taste, or maybe under? Do be sure to share your thoughts with us in the comment section below!

This 18kt Gold HTC One Will Cost You $4,400

The newly-released iPhone 5s comes in three distinct colors – a first for the Cupertino company – one of which has been dubbed as the “Gold” iPhone. The champagne colored device does closely resemble a shade of the precious metal, but calling it “Gold” seems to have ticked off some people in Taiwan. Hence, HTC has come up with their own version of a gold HTC One – not just in color, but actually 18-carat gold used for coating the device.

The leaked images of the device suggest a few interesting things. For one, the device carries the logo “MOBO” on the backside, subscripted by the figure 18 indicate the quality of gold used. The MOBO reference applies to the European urban music MOBO Awards, which is celebrating its 18th anniversary this month, and which HTC is commemorating with the release of this unique HTC One.



Dubbed HTC’s gold One, the device has deeper ties to MOBO awards than just bearing the logo on the back. There are only five units that have been produced, so forget seeing it on theconsumer market. Gold One has brought to light in conjunction with Goldgenie, and out of the five units produced, one will presented as a prize to whoever wins the Best Newcomer category in this month’s MOBO awards. Still not much impressed? The device is valued at $4,400, and is the most expensive one that the Taiwanese manufacturer has created to date. That, combined with the exclusivity of only five units existing in the world, makes it prestigious enough, don’t you think?



If it wasn’t obvious already, it’s worth noting that the gold One doesn’t really have any difference from the normal HTC One available on the market today. That is, of course, excluding the 18-carat outer sheet that makes it unique. The innards – both software and hardware – are completely the same, so unless you really covet the shiny expensive hardware and the exclusivity, there’s nothing you’re missing out on.

Devices made of gold have always existed, and those that have been considered a sign of exclusivity and simply “ bought it because I can buy it”. It might be a first for HTC to jump onto this bandwagon, but manufacturers like Nokia had done with their 88xx lineup long before it was cool. How effective would that be now for HTC, remains to be seen. Still, it’s a pretty cool move.

How To Fix iOS 7 Keyboard Lag On iPad

Apple started the beta process for the iPad version of iOS 7 later than it did on the iPhone and iPod touch, and many had expected it to launch later too. Instead, Apple brought iOS 7 into the public domain across all its mobile devices simultaneously, leaving those running the software on a tablet with plenty of bugs to work with.

As far as those bugs go, not being able to type properly must rank pretty highly, and that’s a situation that plenty of people seem to have found themselves in with iOS 7 on the iPad. An unresponsive keyboard is something that has been reported across the Internet by those that are finding typing on their iPads to be a less than optimal experience since updating them to the latest and greatest software that Cupertino has to offer.

There may just be some light at the end of the tunnel though, after one of our readers claimed that he actually has a fix – one that doesn’t take too much effort and anyone can try out themselves.

According to the claim – and we’ve found it to improve the keyboard situation here – here’s what you need to do in order to make iOS 7′s keyboard behave itself on the iPad:

Step 1: Go into your iPad’s Settings app, and then iCloud. Here, you’ll want to toggleDocuments & Data to off and then turn it back on again.

Step 2: Next, go into General and then Reset. You’ll want to choose Reset All Settings here. You’ll need to reconfigure some stuff, obviously, but hopefully you’ll gain a useable keyboard in the process.

We obviously don’t know how long this improvement will last, and it might last indefinitely. Your mileage may vary though, but if your keyboard’s almost unusable then it’s got to be worth a shot

Samsung Galaxy Round Officially Announced: Features 5.7-Inch Curved Display, Android 4.3 And More

There’s been a significant amount of speculation whether or not Samsung is on the verge of announcing a device with a curved display. We’ve been treated to leaked information from internal sources as well as the odd sneak previews of the device for good measure, but now we have official word that the smartphone does indeed exist. Samsung themselves have announced that the Galaxy Round is in production and will be released almost immediately in Korea.

Aside from being a pretty powerful smartphone, the Galaxy Round’s main commercial feature will be that it ships with a curved OLED display. Samsung’s PR and marketing departments will undoubtedly play on the fact that the Round will be the first smartphone to go to market with a full high-definition AMOLED flexible display. It’s easy to think that this latest Samsung announcement will be a one trick pony, but glancing over the specs sheet makes for rather pleasing reading.

The existence of the curved display on the device will more than likely be a polarizing feature, the benefit of which will be known when we see if it offers any distinct benefit other than flexibility for flexibility sake. The rest of the device however will certainly appeal to the masses. The Round comes in at an impressive 7.9mm in thickness, with a weight of 154 grams. That’s about 40 grams heavier than Apple’s recently released iPhone 5s, but still light enough to be used as an everyday device. The rear camera adds to the overall specification at 13-megapixels, with the device shipping with Android 4.3.

3GB of on-board RAM and a 2.3GHz quad-core processor should give the Round the power that users will be looking for, but the price and limited territory availability may stop a few from even considering the device. Samsung will make the device available for sale tomorrow in South Korea, with a 1.09 million won price-tag and a Luxury Brown external finish. Its hard to predict how consumers will react to the Galaxy Round. Purely from an aesthetic perspective, the phone looks absolutely sensational and it clearly has the technical specification behind it to match

Google’s Eric Schmidt Thinks Android Is More Secure Than The iPhone, Everyone Finds It Funny

Google’s Eric Schmidt is no stranger to opening his mouth and having some strange, often outlandish words come out. The man who was famously once described as Google’s ‘adult supervision’ during some of its most successful years, Schmidt has been known to put his foot in his mouth on more than the odd occasion.
So, when he was faced with the suggestion that Google’s Android mobile operating system isn’t quite as secure as it could be, the stage was always set for the guy to say something amusing. And, in almost Ballmer-esque fashion, he didn’t disappoint.

Responding to a question from Gartner analyst David Willis at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, the exchange went something like this:

Willis: “If you polled many people in this audience they would say Google Android is not their principal platform… When you say Android, people say, wait a minute, Android is not secure.”

Schmidt: “Not secure? It’s more secure than the iPhone.”

Unfortunately, the story goes that the response actually drew more than a few chuckles from the attending crowd, which is probably not the response that Schimdt was going for. Seemingly unfazed by the reaction, he later went on to point at the Google Play Store as a sign that device makers have to stay on the straight and narrow when it comes to compatibility. The insinuation is that phones using the store to install apps are nice and secure, which would beOK if that store wasn’t full of questionable apps in the first place.
The consensus has long been that Apple’s iOS is more secure than Android thanks to the fact that all apps on the App Store are vetted by the company, and that side-loading is prohibited. So far, Apple’s approach has been to its benefit while Android is still seen as something of a Wild West affair.

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle as is so often the case, but that doesn’t stop Schimdt’s latest outburst from being quite so comical.